Long Steps In as LH Mayor, Baney Steps Out
By Scott Johnson
LOCK HAVEN – The city officially has a new mayor, a now-former ex-mayor; and, subsequently, a new council vice-president and a council vacancy. Council also now has a new junior member.
Monday night’s council meeting marked the last time for Bill Baney to serve as a Lock Haven elected official, two terms as a council member and the last four as mayor.
“I look out in the audience tonight and I remember 12 years ago, my dad, in a shaky voice, said he was proud of me,” Baney said in an emotional outgoing statement to a packed City Hall with family and friends and former Lock Haven mayor Rick Vilello in attendance.
Sadly, Baney said, his father passed nine years ago and his mother passed three years ago. ”I’d like to thank my wife, Carla. It’s been a rough year,” he said looking at his wife in the audience. Carla responed with an emotional laugh.
Baney notified the public this past spring that cancer had re-appeared and he has been going for chemotherapy treatments since. “I’d also like to thank my brother, Joe; my sister, Cathy and her husband, George; and my campaign manager for the last 12 years, Doug Fetzer.”
With that, Baney then administered the oath of office to new Mayor Joel Long and returning Council member Doug Byerly. Returning Council members Bill Mincer and Richard Morris took their oaths of office at the Clinton County Courthouse this past Friday.
“I’m both nervous and excited,” Long said. “Thanks to Mr. Baney being one of his last acts as mayor was to swear me in as mayor.”
Long was the former council vice president. Steve Stevenson was unanimously approved as the new VP, after a motion from Byerly and a second from Mincer. Councilman Rick Conklin was absent.
Later in the meeting, council gave its blessing to City Manager Greg Wilson to advertise for qualified candidates to fill Long’s now-vacant seat. Wilson hopes to have council interview the interested candidates at council’s meeting on Feb. 3.
Also during the meeting, Nova Maggs, a student at Central Mountain High School, was sworn in as council’s new “Junior Council Member.” She temporarily sat in Long’s previous seat on council.
Council also decided to have attorney Frank Miceli “reach out” to the Castanea Township Board of Supervisors Solicitor Paul Ryan, who works at the same law firm as City Solicitor Justin Houser, over the no-longer-used Upper Castanea Reservoir on Harvey’s Run south of the Village of Castanea. The city is embarking on a $25-million improvement package for its Keller Reservoir near McElhattan and Ohl Reservoir at Rosecrans.
The city would like to breach the Castanea Reservoir and bring it back to its natural state. Wilson explained Lock Haven offered Castanea Township the site if they chose in 2017. The township declined.
While investigating the improvement package for all of its reservoirs, including Castanea, the engineering study showed making needed improvements at Castanea would cost $4.5 million. ”And that was done years ago. The cost would be significantly more today,” Wilson said, adding the estimated cost to bring the reservoir back to its natural state would cost the city $600,000. ”It doesn’t mitigate any flooding conditions,” Wilson said. “Our letter states we want to restore it to its natural condition and included the engineering studies.”
Wilson said the city received four letters of support from neighboring municipalities, with no support only from Castanea Township. “We would like to be a good neighbor, but we are going to proceed with our option,” Stevenson said. “We’re going to proceed, I think, for the best of our city’s residents.”
The Castanea reservoir was put into use in 1927 and Lock Haven maintained its dam as part of its water supply system until 1994 when a filter plant was constructed down-line for the Keller and Ohl reservoirs. The Castana facility was taken out of service at the time but continues to impound water.
In a letter dated Dec. 10 of last year. Ryan notified Lock Haven that the township had concerns about possible impact to the village if the dam is removed: “After having reviewed the correspondence, the Supervisors are concerned what, if any, flow control measures will be developed in the event the dam is removed. The Township is particularly sensitive given that like many local municipalities, recent heavy rains have caused issues with the adequacy of stormwater management. Before the Supervisors can support this project, they must be assured that the general health, safety, and welfare of the Township residents will be protected.”
Solicitor Ryan’s letter requests that Lock Haven “provide the Township with whatever information it has that may address the Township’s concerns.” Council’s unanimous action will have Miceli draft a response with the engineering studies included.
